Golden Eyes Born
by Syncronoged2438
Summary: Who was this odd boy, and why did Jay feel so drawn to him? He didn't understand. Several years of 'secret' friendship later, Jay only knew the answer to one of those questions. Carlos Oscar De Vil would be the death of him, someday. Until that day, he would be satisfied with falling deeper and deeper in love with the boy in secret.
1. Prologue

_**Hello everyone! It has been a very long time since I've last posted. At one point, I just hit a writer's block, and I just ended up giving up on writing all together. I guess you could say I'm getting back into writing now, after about 1 to 2 years. For future reference, it may take awhile for new chapters to be uploaded, because I (obviously) suck at updating regularly. I have a lot to juggle around in my life, and it might take me awhile to write, proofread, and upload chapters. However, I will do my best to upload several chapters as soon as I can. Anyways, the chapter you are about to read is not part of story you are reading. This is a prologue to the story, with the purpose of informing you of important backstory and information about the story and characters. You can skip this chapter and move on to the story, but I seriously recommend reading the prologue first, or you will be confused.**_

 _Summary:_

 _Who was this odd boy, and why did Jay feel so drawn to him? He didn't understand. Several years of 'secret' friendship later, Jay only knew the answer to one of those questions. Carlos Oscar De Vil would be the death of him, someday. Until that day, he would be satisfied with falling deeper and deeper in love with the boy in secret._

 _(Or- a complicated soulmate au about two oblivious kids falling in love, because I'm trash.)_

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The Golden Bond AU

The 'Golden Soulbond' Phenomenon

In this universe, a phenomenon known as 'Soulmate pairs' are known to exist. However, they are also known to be rare occurrences. Less than five hundred soulmate pairs have been known to exist since the beginning of Earth; and so far, all of them have been found scattered across Auradon.

These pairs are only known to exist when two people hold unconditional, unwavering, strong love for each other, and it is equally returned. When this occurs, a rare type of magic, (known as 'Golden' magic), will seek out these two people, and connect them together in an unbreakable, permanent bond. This is the phenomenon known as the "Golden Soulbond".

The type of magical bond formed will vary across soulmate pairs; however, these bonds can be mental, physical, emotional, and/or sometimes spiritual. The closer the soulmates are, and the stronger their love, the stronger the bond will be.

* * *

Mental Soulbonds

The first case, mental soulbonds, are exactly as what they sound. This type of bond connects soulmates by forming a permanent mental connection between them. The magic of the bond makes it possible for the soulmates to use a type of telepathy. They will form a telepathic bond through the soulbond, allowing them to read the thoughts of the other, (with permission, although this can be overcome in special cases), sense and feel the emotions of the other, communicate thoughts and emotions, speak to one another mentally, and sync consciousness.

Syncing consciousness is a symptom of the mental bonds soulmates share. In 'Golden' bonds, soulmates act as if two halves of the same whole. In mental bonds, this is especially a common occurrence. Syncing consciousness will cause soulmates to act like one being, often completing the same actions, and speaking the same words. This can also often cause the pair to share the same thoughts and emotions. This symptom is generally inevitable, but it can be caused on purpose.

Another symptom of mental bonds is often a temporary change of appearance. While communicating telepathically, it is not unusual for the soulmates' eyes to sudden glow a vibrant golden color, as this occurs while the bond is being used. On rare occurrences, the pair's bodies may also glow a golden color, generally due to a strong bond connection.

* * *

Physical Bonds

Physical bonds, on the other hand, have a couple more rules. Physical bonds are common for soulmates, and are seen most frequently. These types of bonds can cause soulmates to be able to sense when the other is near, and know the other's general location when they are within a two mile radius. They are also able to sense when the other may be danger, and act accordingly.

Stronger physical bonds, however, can often cause the soulmates to feel the physical pain of the other. This type of bond is usually caused as a safety measure to ensure the protection of the soulmates and their bond. (There are bonds that also have more attributes designed to protect them.) These types of bonds work similar to an alarm system, such as a smoke detector; only being causing alarms when alerted to a specific danger. For example, if one soulmate was pinched, or got a papercut, the other would not feel anything. On the other hand, if one soulmate hit his head, or burned his arm, the other would would immediately feel the pain of the injury, and sense that the other was in danger.

The amount of time one soulmate would feel the pain of the other is dependant on the type of danger they were introduced to. For example, if one soulmate burned their hand on a hot pot, and immediately removed their hand, both soulmates would feel the full extent of the pain until it stopped hurting. On the other hand, if one soulmate was being attacked by someone, the other would only feel the full extent of the pain until they were able to discern that the danger was still present. Afterwards, the pain being communicated to them would dull enough for the soulmate to find the other, and remove them from the presence of danger; but would still be present in the back of their minds. During this time, the bond would also heighten their senses, allowing them to find the other faster.

* * *

Effects of Separation

Unfortunately, because soulmates are like two halves of one whole, they also cannot survive on their own. Separating soulmates can work as a form of torture for the two, and will effectively kill them if separated for too long. Similarly, the amount of time they can be separated for is dependent on how strong their relationship is, and how much they depend on each other. If they are very close, even a few hours apart will make them quite uncomfortable. After a day, they will be very uncomfortable and have issues with focusing. By the end of a week or two, they will be in a lot of pain, unable to focus or stay still, and will fall into major depression and anxiety. After a month or two, they will either be dead, or dying.

* * *

Death

It has already been established that soulmates cannot live without the other. Death of soulmates works almost exactly the same way in all cases, even if the soulmates are not as close. The death of one soulmate will immediately cause the death of the other. Soulmates will be able to sense when the other is nearing death, even if they are very far away from each other. Due to the bond linking the two souls together, the bond ensures that when the heart of one soulmate stops, the heart of the other will seize and collapse in response. This reaction is usually immediate, but in some cases, the death of the second soulmate is prolonged over a few days acting more like a fatal plague. However, it will still kill them.

* * *

Strength of the Bond

The most important variable of the "Golden" bond, is how strong each individual bond is. This factor determines what type of bond they have, how it will function, how long they can be apart for, how soon it will take them to die without the other, and the symptoms of their bond.

In strong bonds, even the presence of and/or contact with the other can increase strength, speed, mood, and healing factor in both soulmates.

* * *

Soulmates on the Isle

There are no known recorded cases of soulmates on the Isle of the Lost. This surprises no one; Auradonians and Islers alike. Villains are supposed to be evil, after all. There should only be room in their hearts for evil, and nothing else. Love is a weakness, as far as they're concerned. There are no soulmates on the Isle of the Lost, (except, there are.)

Unknown to others, four pairs of soulmates have appeared on the Isle, over the last twenty years. Each of these pairs knew the harsh, unwavering rules of the Isle, and attempted to hide their relationships. Needless to say, they were not able to manage this for very long. Unfortunately, eight soulmates ended up dead soon after. Whether it was from forced separation, or something more cruel, no one knows. No one speaks about soulmates on the Isle, ever.

* * *

Jay and Carlos

Jay and Carlos are the fifth and latest pair of soulmates to ever appear on the island. They have been best friends, (as much as they could be on Isle, anyways), since they were young children; and have always looked out for each other. Jay is one year older than Carlos. During the events of Descendants (1), Carlos is 15 years old and Jay is 16 years old.

* * *

For the rest, you will have to wait and see.

* * *

 _ **This story follows the beginning and evolution of the relationship between Jay and Carlos on the Isle of the Lost. There will be a bunch of angst, fluff, and struggle between the two, but it will hopefully be enjoyable for you guys. I will be making a sequel that follows their lives as they transition to Auradon, but for now, I hope you enjoy the story.**_


	2. Trash Day

_**Hello, everyone! The first chapter is finally here! I apologize that it took so long to get here. I cross-post this story on both Ao3 and , and I completely forgot to update the chapters on both sites. Thank you so much for your views and reviews!**_

 _ **FlatFox: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **ALightInTheDark12: Thank you so much! Here you go! This chapter is just for you to read. I hope you enjoy it.**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter Notes:**_

 _The first chapter of the first story in the Golden Soulbond Series is finally finished and posted! (AHHH!)_

 _This chapter literally took me forever to organize, write, edit, and proofread, but it was so worth it. After an entire month of work, it has finally been completed, and I really love how it turned out. Hopefully, the next chapter will not take nearly as long to produce and publish, so you guys can read the next part of the story as soon as possible! (Just wanted to pause to give a HUGE thanks to my amazing beta reader/co-writer, taytayloulou for helping me with this story. She has basically become my muse and inspiration through this whole experience over the last few weeks. I would never have gotten this chapter done this fast without her, (and it certainly wouldn't have been even half as good as this version), so please make sure to send some love her way if you enjoyed this chapter.)_

 **Chapter Summary** :

 _A small boy with black-and-white hair in loose curls and the cutest hazel eyes ever created sat before him. What an odd kid. He didn't deserve to live on the the Isle, with its dirty atmosphere ad vicious inhabitants. What was that weird glow coming from him? It almost looked like magic, but he knew that was impossible; at least on the Isle. Whatever it was, it felt nice and warm when it reached his skin. He felt some sort of odd ethereal pull towards the other, like he had a responsibility for the boy. Jay had to take care of him, he couldn't imagine letting anything happen to the small, shivering little boy. Even if it meant disobeying his father, and facing the harsh consequences that would follow._

* * *

 _Trash Day_

Start Date: January 29th, 2018  
End Date: March 6th, 2018  
Word Count: 10,892  
Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Graphic Depictions of Injury  
Characters: Jay, Carlos de Vil, Jafar, Cruella de Vil

This story is cross-posted on Archive of Our Own; ( _You can find it here: archiveofourown works/13415391/chapters/30739122_ ). You can find me anytime at .com. You can also find my beta reader/co-writer at .com. I am always open to accepting any questions, ideas, and/or theories you have about the story. I love connecting with my readers, so don't hesitate to send me an ask!

* * *

 _Eight years ago_

 _ **Thursday, May 3rd, 2007**_

Today was an awful day to be alive, Jay had decided. His 'peaceful awakening' for this morning consisted of Jafar's yells and grumbles of disgust, followed by having a glass vase thrown at his head. The vase shattered upon impact, showering shards of glass down his face, resulting in many painful cuts and a trail of blood cascading down his skin. After a sharp smack from his father for dripping blood on the floor of his shop, he was sent to go clean up the mess Jafar had caused. Rolling out of his makeshift 'bed' under the creaking shelves of broken televisions, Jay went to grab cleaning supplies from the supply closet down the hall. Only once he was out of his father's sight did he allow himself to wince at the sharp glass stabbing at his face and the new cut caused by his father's ring, wiping at tears that had accumulated in his eyes.

Returning to the shop, he swept up the broken glass and mopped up the scarlet blood on the hardwood floor. When his father was satisfied, Jay excused himself to the bathroom to attempt at digging the glass out of his cuts. He managed to pull out the bigger shards, which only caused the cuts to bleed even more. Leaning over the sink, he turned on the tap and let the cold water wash over his face, hoping it would get rid of the remaining shards and blood. Jay dried his face and hair with a towel and walked back out to the shop.

Upon his return, Jafar only faced him with a disgusted sneer pulled across his face.

"Get out of here, boy. I don't want to see your irritating face today anymore than I have to. Don't come back until you've found something useful for me to sell." He grumbled.

Jay responded with a sarcastic "yes sir" and a hidden eye roll, before making his way out the door to follow his father's instructions.

"العاق اللعنة"* Jafar grumbled in annoyance under his breath.

Ignoring the unwarranted insult from his father, he exited the grimy shop and made his way down to the Isle marketplace, nearing the docks of the island. On his road to the end of the Isle, Jay became aware of a certain buzz of life and energy among the commoners, one that was very scarce upon the Isle. These poor villains and their kids, known as the Isle Commoners, albeit a very large crowd, were the saddest bunch in the hellhole surrounded by water that they called home. They often stood around alleys and sidewalks, grumbling to themselves while the younger commoners laid on the concrete of the pavement or curled into small cardboard boxes to cry in private. Today, however, they were running and stumbling about the streets, cackling amongst themselves, and shoving their way past the long-haired boy as he continued on.

There was only one possible reason the commoners were this excited on this specific day, because what they were waiting for this morning only occurs twice a year. This day, in particular, was known as Trash Day to the villains on the Isle of the Lost. It was the day that Auradonians gathered up all their trash, old food, unused items, and/or objects they no longer needed, and put together a shipment to the Isle of the Lost. They only did this twice every year; once in May, and again in November. To Auradon, Trash Day was just a day where they decided to be merciful to the villians and provide them with 'charity'. On the Isle of the Lost though, Trash Day was the biggest day of the year, setting the mood and atmosphere of the commoners, shop owners, villains, and VKs. For many, it even determined whether or not they would live through the next six months at all.

Jay instantly picked up his pace, hoping for the shipment to be larger this time around, unlike last year. Wisely taking the opportunity presented to him, he took his chance to trip the next three adults to come across his path, skillfully digging his hands through their pockets and purses while helping them up; scoring three wallets, a handheld mirror, a chain bracelet, and a small silver necklace as a reward.

He pushed his way through the bustling crowd, stealing as many objects as he could get his hands on, picking up his pace as he neared the filthy docks. Upon his arrival to the marketplace, Jay was relieved to find that the shipment had yet to be delivered to the island. For once in his life, he was actually early for the Trash Day delivery. Perhaps today wouldn't be as awful as he has previously thought it to be. If he could manage a few good steals from the shipment that his father could find use for, Jafar might actually spare him for a couple days. Jay quickly changed his train of thought, lest he have to stomp out his hopes for two slices of bread per day, (rather than his usual one), once more.

Snapping out of his brief trance-like state, he heard the loud horn of the delivery boat in the distance, just before everyone in the marketplace rushed onto the docks, impatiently awaiting the shipment on the deck of the boat from beyond the barrier. Jay, narrowly avoiding being stepped on by the commoners, began to push his way to the front of the crowd; hoping to get the first picks of the goods and supplies.

After what seemed like years to the Island inhabitants, the delivery boat finally hit land and anchored at shore, a short magical bridge forming between the island and boat, connecting it to the docks. A small opening formed in the magical barrier surrounding the island; large enough for the shipment crates, but not enough room for anyone to try to crawl through. Two average-sized men in head-to-toe hazmat suits stepped out from inside the boat's bow, gathering the shipment crates on the loading deck, and carrying them to the barrier opening.

Scoffing at the ridiculously drastic protection measures, Jay ignored the hazmat suits in favor of focusing his thoughts on more important things, such as what the small crates might hold, and more importantly, what he could steal from them before anyone noticed.

The crowd began backing away from barrier to make room for the crates on the docks of the island, those in front preparing themselves to grab anything they could in the impending chaos soon to ensue. After transporting all the crates to the shore, the men took a short moment before shoving the crates through the barrier opening on the count of three, immediately closing the weak point in the barrier once more.

With the snap of a finger, or well, the closing of a barrier, the large crowd was plunged into a maniacal furor of discord. Like a pack of wolves after prey, the islanders pounced on the shipments, immediately prying the crates open. People were fighting and tripping over each other, some stealing other's grabs, and some even wrecking everything in their path.

There were four crates in all: one filled with clothes, one filled with food, one filled with medicine, and the last was filled with other various items. As much as Jay would have liked to steal from the crates with clothes and food, he knew better than to bring home something Jafar found useless, and stuck to the last crate; stealing as many items as he could, hoping he could find something useful for his father to sell. When he had grabbed as many items and objects as he could possibly hide on his body, he turned and ran as fast as he could from the marketplace; lest his steals be taken from some other greedy villain kid.

Once he made it around the corner of an empty shop, he stopped to check his items, throwing away anything useless he had grabbed, and allowing himself to feel proud of the three good items he managed to steal. This consisted of an handcrafted vintage royal blue hand fan, a small sculpted glass vase, and the best of them all, a polished diamond necklace with white gold settings. When he was satisfied with the results, he pocketed the items once more and smiled to himself, before resting his hands in the pockets of his red jacket and walking around the corner. His father would be pleased with what he brought him, which would make his day a lot easier.

( _If only he hadn't walked past a certain alley on his way home that day, his father may have been temporarily happy, but Jay never would have become who he is today. If he had never walked in that alley, he never would have gotten his happy ending. But, he did. He never once regretted it._ )

x-x-x

Today was an awful day to be alive, Carlos had decided. He had finally managed to unlock the door to Cruella's fur closet with a small plastic button from one of her various coats that he had taken time to sharpen on the thin, wide blades of her fur traps. Turning the lock on the door from the inside, he pushed ever so lightly on the door, opening it slowly to avoid its loud creaks. Once he had opened the door enough for him to crawl through, Carlos squeezed his way through the opening as quickly as possible, breathing in the cool air of Hell Hall for the first time in a week and- who knows, he had lost count a long time ago.

He closed the door softly behind him, looking down the halls for Cruella, before racing down the hall to his left. Upon reaching the door of his 'room', he pulled it open, and dove inside, pulling the door closed and shoving a random piece of furniture in front of it, (seeing as his door had no lock). Deepening his breaths, he turned on the small lamp he had gotten from the marketplace one day, and crawled over to the concrete slabs, flattened cardboard boxes and old newspapers that acted as his bed, and pulled the single cloth blanket resting on top over his small body. Carlos' 'room' was just a small closet with very little space, holding only his 'bed', a small lamp, his numerous books, and a small box of his most recent inventions. Taking off his jacket, he rolled it into a ball to use as a pillow, and crawled into his bed for some much needed rest.

" ** _CARLOS!_** " He woke up a few hours later, to the god awful sound of his mother's vile and shrill shrieks echoing down the hall. Standing up from his bed, (and preparing himself for any punishment he may end up on the receiving end of), he slowly opened the door to his room, shuffling out into the hall and following his mother's voice. Ignoring her only ever made her more angry, which he learned to avoid doing at all costs. His birthday was only in a few weeks, and he would really like to live long enough to make it to at least seven years old; lest she try to murder him today.

Finding his mother in a rage, tearing fabrics apart and breaking any piece of glass she could get her hands on, made him want to turn and run right out of the large doors of Hell Hall. Despite this, Carlos forced his legs to stay anchored to the ground in fear as he silently approached her. "Yes, mother?" He replied, voice barely a whisper above the hurricane that was Cruella de Vil. Snapping her head around to face him, she sauntered over to the doorway in anger, looming over the tiny, quiet boy who was currently shaking with fear.

"You stupid, stupid boy! Where the hell have you been? My mansion is filthy. My clothes are filthy, even my hair is filthy! And it's all your fault, you rotten mutt! They aren't going to clean themselves, and you better have my castle beyond spotless by sundown." She yelled at the boy, ignoring how he flinched away from her.

"Yes, mother." He answered, turning the corner the room to start his endless list of chores only to be stopped when he felt a hand grab his wrist, sharp red nails digging into his veins. Trying his best not to cry out in pain as blood flowed down his hand, he turned back to his mother.

"Hold on, Carlos." She ordered, drawing out his name like he was a pet. "You've been a very bad boy today, ignoring your owner and leaving her to clean up your mess. And what do masters do to pets who misbehave?" She asked, although he already knew the answer. Waiting for his inevitable response, the tall, sickly looking woman placed a cigarette between her lips, cupping the flame of a lighter to her mouth.

"They p-punish them." He sobbed quietly, closing his eyes in anticipation of the abuse he would soon be experiencing.

"For once, you are actually correct, mutt. Perhaps, you have finally learned your place." She grumbled darkly, pulling the cigarette from her lips, and shoving the burning end into the skin surrounding the boy's collarbone.

Whimpering at the burning sting of the cigarette butt, the smell of his own burning flesh mixed with the smell of tobacco drifted around the two, reaching Carlos' nose as he tried not to vomit in disgust.

"What are you?" She questioned.

When he did not answer her, Cruella smiled viciously, unpocketing her lighter, and letting the growing flame lick across his skin. His cries of agony only fuelled her glee, asking once more:

" _What, are you?_ "

"A b-bad dog." He replied ashamed, pausing before speaking once more. "A bad dog that disobeyed it's owner." He stated, lowering his gaze and hoping for the punishment to end quickly. Removing the flame from his collarbone, she pocketed the lighter after she quickly re-lit her cigarette, taking a large puff of it, before pressing it to another un-charred piece of skin once more.

"Will you make the same mistake again?" The vile woman sneered, revealing rotting yellow teeth, eaten away by alcohol and constant drug abuse.

"N-no. Good dogs listen to their master's orders. You deserve to have a good d-dog." He whines in pain, repeating what he had been taught so long ago. Scoffing, she removed the cigarette from his now severely burned skin, breathing in another puff of the blunt's smoke.

"Such a kiss up. You're lucky that I am merciful to all my pets." Turning towards the large doors at the front of the house, she made her way out of the large mansion, heels clicking on the tile beneath her. Opening the door, she looked over her shoulder back to the still shaking six year old frozen in place where she left him.

"Mummy will be back before sundown. Be a good dear, and behave like the obedient little puppy you are. I will fully expect an beautiful apology gift by the time I return. Oh, how gorgeous I would look in jewels from Auradon. What a shame. It's their loss, anyways." She finished, muttering to herself, before walking out of the mansion, slamming the large polished wooden door behind her.

Left in monotonous silence, Carlos finally allowed his tears to fall past his eyes, leaving salty trails on his cheeks. Hiding his face in his scarred hands, his burns both stinging and numbing, he fell to his knees, choking on quiet sobs. When he managed to pull himself together, he stood up, and gently cleaned his newly burned skin with a nearby wet towel, trying not to watch as several layers of his now dead, charred skin slowly fell off, sticking to the material of the towel.

Walking back to his room, he grabbed his jacket and a grey scarf that he kept for this exact reason, before walking out the doors of the Hell Hall mansion. Walking down to the marketplace, he remembered that today was the first Trash Day of the year, and picked up his pace, sprinting down to the docks. If he wanted to find a good gift for his mother that would keep him off her naughty list for awhile, today was the best day to do it. Smiling to himself, he thought, perhaps today wouldn't be as awful as he has previously thought it to be.

He made it to the docks and through the crowd just in time to see two men in hazmat suits shove four shipment crates through an opening in the barrier before immediately closing it and returning to the shipment boat. As chaos began to erupt around him, Carlos focused only on grabbing what he could from the crate filled with clothing, resulting in a large brown faux fur coat, and a small red faux fur boa. Satisfied with what he had gotten, he turned to leave, before something shining in his peripheral vision caught his attention. Recognizing the object as what he imaged a diamond tiara would look like, he grabbed the item as quickly as he could, knowing that such a nice piece of jewelry would keep Cruella satisfied for at least a couple weeks.

Apparently, he didn't seem to be the only one wanting the tiara for their own purposes. When he pulled the tiara from the pile, he noticed someone else's fingers also wrapped around the headpiece. Following the hand to its owner, he came face-to-face with a pissed villain kid, along with his two lackees coming to stand beside him. This teen, happened to be the leader of a local 'gang' known as The Tigerwolves; which he immediately recognized. Gulping, he let his grasp on the tiara fall, backing away from the three teens that were nearly twice his size. Unfortunately for him, they only followed him, chasing right behind him after he broke into a sprint.

After ducking into a nearby alley hoping to escape, Carlos could only cower in fear when he found himself at a dead end. Curling into a ball and hugging his knees to his chest, he wondered what they would do to him.

After cornering him in the small alley, they stole the items he had gotten from the shipment, cackling mercilessly amongst themselves as they tore apart the fur coat and boa he had managed to find in the chaotic crowd of islanders. Silent tears defied his thoughts, falling slowly down his face for the second time that morning; as he realized just how furious Cruella would be with him if he came home empty handed, a full list of chores untouched, and bruises intact. Refusing to look the older boys in the eyes, he only whimpered softly as the leader of the gang sauntered over to him, throwing the first punch along the side of his head. The lackees followed their leader, throwing more punches at the small boy. Soon enough, the three teenagers were battering the small six-year old's body with hits and kicks; Carlos trying - and failing - to withhold his cries of pain.

( _If only he hadn't tried to grab the tiara, maybe he wouldn't have ended up here, but Carlos never would have become who he is today. If he had never gotten cornered and attacked in that alley, he never would have gotten his happy ending. But, he did. He never once regretted it._ )

x-x-x

Jay paused, unsure if his ears were deceiving him. Turning on his heels, he backtracked his steps to the nearby alley he had just passed on his path home. Once again, he heard the odd mixture of grunts, slurs, and cries coming from inside the alley and stopped once more. Frowning, he knew that he should probably mind his own business, and not get involved. On the other hand, he felt as though something was pulling him to the alley, or rather, what lied inside it. Scoffing at his own stupidity for doing this, the eight-year old boy rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, and stepped into the alley, following the noises to the end of the alley.

Once he reached it, he could see three large teenage boys attacking what seemed to be a small kid, curling into themselves at the bottom of a wall. The kid was occasionally letting out whimpers and cries of pain, trying to lean away from the violent hits of the bullies.

Enraged at the scene playing out before him, before he knew it, Jay had quickly bent over to pick up a thin lead pipe lying haphazardly on the ground beside him, before carefully sneaking up behind the group. With one swift swing, he knocked out who seemed to be the leader of the group, and the two lackees turned to face him in surprise. Twirling the pipe between his fingers, he glared at the older two boys, raising an eyebrow; and leaving the ' _I dare you_ ' left unsaid, but not unnoticed.

He only smirked in triumph as the two boys shook in their boots, before sprinting off down the alleyway, leaving behind the body of their unconscious leader. Turning around, he noticed that the kid was still curled tightly into a ball, shaking violently. Jay unwillingly let his face fall into a expression that could be described as worried at the sight before him, before dropping the pipe and stepping over the still body of the teen to move over to them. Gently placing a hand on a small, bony shoulder, he winced as the child flinched and shook harder, before drawing away his hand. Deciding to try comforting the kid vocally instead, he spoke. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay. They're gone. You're safe now."

It seemed as if his efforts were not in vain, as the child's rapid shaking eventually calmed into the occasional shiver. The small child, ( _a boy, Jay realized_ ), loosened his tight grasp around his knees, slowly raising his head from his lap. His face soon became level with Jay's gaze, their eyes meeting for the first time.

In less than a split second, Jay was taken over by what seemed to be visions of a soft golden light, swirling in his peripheral vision, and washing over him in waves, like a pure ocean of molten gold. Studying the beautiful shining lights, he briefly wondered if he had just died, and he had somehow made it to heaven, despite being related to one of the worst villains in the land. Then, as soon as it came, the light disappeared, and his vision was plunged into complete darkness. Worrying that he might have gone blind, Jay blinked, trying to see in front of him. When his efforts proved to be fruitless, he tried to turn his head back to where the small boy would be, and jumped, startled by what he saw. Among the darkness, it seemed that the only thing he could see was the boy, his figure now outlined by the same bright golden light from earlier. The boy in front of him was literally glowing, shining with his entire being, while Jay could only look on in awe.

Blinking once more, he snapped out of his odd trance, vision returning to normal once more, before returning to staring at the boy before him, who was oddly still glowing. Ignoring what was obviously just hallucinations as best as he could, Jay attempted to turn his attention back to the boy's injuries. When his eyes accidentally met the other's gaze once more, he froze again, his mind instantly blanking.

The small boy had frosted white hair with pitch black roots framing his face in loose curls that fell around his eyes. He had the cutest hazel eyes Jay had ever seen, ( _regardless of the fact he had only ever met two people with hazel eyes before_ ). The best way he could describe the color of the boy's eyes was like a pond of warm, dripping honey; the glow around him only bringing out his eyes even more. The boy was obviously seriously malnourished, bone-thin as though he may disappear at any moment. He looked to be about four or five years old, although the darkness behind his eyes told Jay quite different. The younger boy was easily the most beautiful person the Arabian had ever seen.

' _What an odd kid_.' He thought to himself. Jay could tell the boy didn't deserve to live on the the Isle, with its dirty atmosphere and vicious inhabitants. Not to mention, what in the world was that weird glow coming from him? Jay knew he was hallucinating, but it almost looked like magic, even though he knew that was impossible on the Isle.

All of a sudden, it felt like he had some sort of odd ethereal pull towards the other, like he was being told he now had a responsibility for the boy. Like Jay was supposed to take care of him, and he knew he couldn't imagine letting anything happen to the small, still shivering little boy. Refocusing his attention on helping the kid once more, Jay moved closer, curling up beside the hazel-eyed boy and slowly scooting closer until he was sitting beside the other, resting his arms upon his knees as an attempt to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"Hey, are you okay?" He whispered softly, as to not startle the younger child. Watching the boy lower his head, Jay nearly had to squint to see the tiny nod that followed in response. "Okay, good." He paused, before deciding that he should continue. "Do you have a name?" He also decided to try for small talk, despite knowing he was terrible at it himself. Receiving another small nod in return, he smiled to himself before he realized that the boy would not actually tell Jay his name. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he decided to introduce himself instead.

"Okay, well... my name is Jay." He stated, stuttering and stumbling over his own words. Hoping the boy would answer him in his own time, he waited for a response.

Seemingly ignoring Jay's attempt at an introduction, the half-platinum blonde finally decided to speak his thoughts aloud, only to question the elder boy. "Why did you help me?" He pondered audibly, voice barely above a whisper.

' _So, he does talk._ ' Jay quipped to himself, briefly shocked at the quite blunt question coming straight from the blonde's lips. Thinking to himself, he searched for an explanation for his actions. When he couldn't find one to answer the boy's inquiry, Jay simply shrugged in response. "I don't know." Shaking his head, he chose to rethink his statement. "Just because I wanted to." He decided, pleased with the more direct answer to the question. Seemingly satisfied with that reply, the younger boy fell into his silence once more.

Scooting closer, Jay pushed once more, rewording his previous question. "So, _what is_ your name?" He smirked, gently elbowing the other in his side; a sense of accomplishment filling him when he realized that the boy didn't flinch in response this time.

"Carlos." He muttered, rolling his eyes as he attempted to scoot away from the long-haired boy. "My name is Carlos." He added as an afterthought.

His smirk only growing in response, Jay just continued pestering the younger boy. "Just Carlos?" He asked, blatantly ignoring the blonde's personal space, leaning in even closer to his face.

Scoffing, the boy only met his stare head-on, gaze unwavering under Jay's deep brown eyes. "Just Jay?" He retorted, his nose crinkling in an adorable way.

Chuckling, Jay backed away from the boy, an eyebrow raised in his wake. ' _So, Freckles has some sass in him after all. This is going to be fun._ ' Laughing to himself, he attempted to softly glare at the other, only to fail miserably. "Touché, Blondie." Ignoring how cute the boy looked with a raised brow and a small smirk gracing his soft facial features, he answered the indirect inquiry. "Fine, be like that. My _full_ name is Jayden Asem, if you must know. But, if you ever call me 'Jayden' in front of anybody, I will shove you in a locker with no hesitation." He deadpanned, slightly blushing as the boy only snorted in response. He quickly added, "Jafar's my dad. What about you?"

"Carlos de Vil. I'm Cruella's son." The boy muttered as if he was deeply ashamed, the second part barely audible.

' _Of course. That explains the hair and eyes._ ' Jay could have slapped himself in the face at that moment, it was so obvious that the two were related. Truth be told, he would gladly take Carlos' warm and golden caramel eyes over Cruella's insane ( _and creepy_ ), striking daffodil eyes anyday. "Ah, that would explain the multi-color hair…" He pretended to be thinking, only to catch the young de Vil off guard by ruffling his curly hair.

"Hey!" Carlos exclaimed, trying ( _and failing_ ) to throw the elder boy off him as he messed up his hair.

Unfortunately, the laughter only ended as soon as it started, as Jay's hands soon retracted when he caught Carlos wince in pain after raising his arms above his head. Realizing the boy would need medical attention, he helped the younger stand from his sitting position, letting him lean against Jay's side.

"Can I pick you up?" He asked, as the hazel-eyed boy turned to face him once more. When he gently nodded in return, Jay lifted the practically weightless boy into his arms, one arm tucked under his knees and another supporting his back. Stepping over the _still_ unmoving gang leader, he walked over to the alley entrance, careful not to jostle the boy. Peeking around the corner of the alley, he was relieved to see that the streets were still relatively empty, as it seemed that the commoners and shop owners were still occupied with stealing from the shipment. Sprinting away from the alley, he made his way to his father's junk shop using muscle memory alone.

When he could see the sign with a painted snake in the distance, signifying who owned the small shop, Jay slowed down, taking a brief left turn into another small alley leading to the back door of the shop. Leaning down to place the skinny boy on the sidewalk of the alley, he turned to give the boy a quick look-over. "I have to go inside to get a few things. Will you be alright here?" As much as he wouldn't like to admit it, he was genuinely worried about the young de Vil's wellbeing; all the while doing his best to ignore his father's voice in his head, telling him that he was weak and stupid for caring about the small boy.

Once again, Carlos nodded, curls slightly bouncing around his face as he moved his head in the affirmative.

Giving the half-blonde a short nod in return, Jay turned to the back door of the small shop he called home. He picked the lock on the door with the pair of tumblers he kept hidden in the pocket of his jeans for this exact reason and walked inside; eyes not leaving the boy's bruised face until he shut the door behind him.

Sighing deeply, Jay peeked around the corner, vigorously searching either end of the hallway for his father. When he saw no one approaching, he quickly ran down the hallway, careful as to not make a sound when he saw the bathroom door in the distance. Slowing down, he silently creeped around the corner, wincing when he saw his father's shadow gliding across the floor only a few meters away in the middle of the shop. Holding his breath, Jay waited until his father's shadow moved away, before he walked over to the bathroom door. He opened the door as slowly and quietly as possible, doing his best to avoid any creaks in the old hinges of the old wood. When he made it into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, Jay mentally patted himself on the back, letting himself exhale after a few seconds.

Turning to the bathroom sink, he reached over to open the medicine cabinet, grabbing a small first-aid kit, and several rolls of bandages. He stuffed the supplies into a small bag he found, before turning to leave the bathroom. Getting through the door silently, he checked for his father's shadow once more, before taking off down the hallway, opening the back door with practiced ease. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, Jay quietly made his way over to the exhausted Carlos. Picking the boy up once more, he walked them to the opposite end of the alley.

While one end of the alley opened into the street, the other end lead out to a small clearing, where he knew a small barn-like shack was housed in the distance, abandoned and hidden by the few trees still standing. Jay had first stumbled upon the shack a few years ago, when he had been running away and hiding from his father who had been furious with him. To this day, the shack, which he had appropriately named the "ثعبان"* shack, was his go-to hideout location when he just needed to get away.

As he passed through the clearing, he effortlessly dodged the hanging leaves and branches, walking deeper into the field of trees, stopping when they reached the front gate of the shack. He carried Carlos over to the side of the building, walking in through the side door, and over to a nearly empty room with only a few piece of furniture here and there. Sitting the younger boy atop a small, dingy couch, Jay turned to lock the door behind them, before sitting beside Carlos. Taking the supplies out of the bag, he began unwrapping bandages and grabbing ointments, all things he had stolen from various shops over the years to take care of his own wounds from time to time. Carlos only stared at him in a mix of surprise and confusion as he prepared to treat his injuries.

x-x-x

This was quite possibly the most bizarre day of Carlos' entire life, as short as it was. He was fully expecting this day to be another terrible day in the pitiful story of his life and he would have never expected what actually happened instead in a million years. After getting cornered in the alley, he was hoping that the teens would get bored soon after they began attacking him, especially if he didn't give them the pride of hearing his cries. Carlos had zoned out about halfway through the beating, the new wave of pelts and punches gone ignored as he did his best to dissociate from the pain he was experiencing. Out of nowhere, there was a sharp ' ** _whack_** ' and the familiar noise of ringing metal passed through his ears. Suddenly, the punches and kicks stopped abruptly. Carlos refused to look up from beneath his arms, not wanting to find out if the break in hits was simply a trick to get a reaction from him. After a short silence, he heard two pairs of footsteps running away from the alley, followed by something metal clanging against the cement. When he heard slow footsteps approaching him, he clung to legs even more, pulling them closer into his chest and dipped his head further into his knees, arms tensing above his head in anticipation of another beating.

Feeling a warm weight settle on his shoulder, he violently flinched away from the source; before he felt the hand draw away from him in response. His ears were still ringing from his previous panic attack, ( _not to mention the one he was currently having_ ), but he managed to hear a voice through the sharp noise. The voice, too deep to be a girl, but not deep enough to be a teenage boy, was warm and reassuring with an edge of what sounded like hidden concern.

"-okay…'s okay...ey're gone. You're safe now." Only able to hear a few words, Carlos wasn't able to decipher the entire message; but he could guess that the other boy was trying to calm him down. Despite his early fears, he felt as though he could trust the boy and his instincts had never lead him wrong before. Carlos focused on his breathing; trying to come down from his panic attack. When the ringing in his ears stopped, and his limbs ceased their shivers, he slowly raised his head from it's position, turning to the source of the warm voice.

The world around him disappeared into beautiful golden light, only for his vision to be plunged into lonely, pitch black darkness. Before he had the chance to have a _third_ panic attack in a row that morning, Carlos turned back to the boy that saved him; only to almost jump in surprise. Despite being unable to see anything but darkness, he could easily see the other in front of him. The boy was literally _glowing_ , golden lights actually erupting from his body, so bright, it nearly blinded him. It was almost as if his soul was leaving his body and latching onto Carlos' own.

Shaking his head, Carlos brought himself out of his own thoughts. He must have been hallucinating, there was no other reasonable explanation for what he saw. Perhaps, the pain of his injuries was finally catching up with him. Despite this, the boy in front of him still seemed to be glowing, his slim figure outlined by the light surrounding him.

' _Nope, okay. Definitely just going crazy. Maybe Cruella's insanity has finally gotten to me._ '

Ignoring his thoughts once more, Carlos looked up to meet the gaze of the other boy, and had to actually physically stop his jaw from dropping open. The boy, regardless of the fact that he was bending down to Carlos' level, had to be at least twice Carlos' size, despite the fact that Carlos would only guess that they were only about a year or two apart. The boy had incredibly long hair, his luscious brown locks reaching over his shoulders and ending about a quarter of the way down his back. He had a small ragged black beanie pulled over his head, matching the rest of his outfit and was covered in a thin, dark red jacket with a torn, yellow t-shirt underneath and ripped grey shorts. His light tan skin gave away his Middle Eastern background, reminding Carlos of what olive oil must look like. The older boy's face was drawn into a small, concerned pout; his pink colored lips pursed as he stared at Carlos. Perhaps most striking of all, were the boy's eyes, a deep warm brown that nearly seemed to glow in the sunlight. His eyes reminded the young de Vil of a mix of auburn and a chocolate color, pooling in swirls around his pupils. When he looked closer, Carlos could even see tiny flecks of gold and green beneath the brown. His eyes were framed by long brown eyelashes, pulling the whole look together. The elder boy was easily the most handsome person Carlos had ever seen.

Breathing deeply, he did his best to keep his sigh of awe internalized, as he realized just how screwed he was going to be. ' _This is going to end well._ ' Carlos thought sarcastically. The boy looked like all other Isle kids their age, but there was something different about him. The boy actually cared about helping him and protected him without asking for something in return - something no Isle kid would ever do. It seemed as though this boy was one of the very few people on the Isle that actually had a heart, despite how hard it looked like he was trying to hide it behind his natural strength and tall stature. Carlos could tell that the boy would be much better off if he had no ties to the Isle, and thus no rules to live by.

The glow of light was still floating around the boy's body, almost looking like what the young de Vil imagined magic would look like, despite magic not existing on the Isle. The longer he stared at the boy, the more he could feel an odd sensation settling in his chest. All of a sudden, Carlos could feel a strong connection between them, as if he had ties to the long-haired boy. Despite the fact that the other was clearly older and stronger than him, Carlos couldn't help but feel an urge to keep the other boy out of danger and harm. He finally snapped out of his trance when he noticed the boy moving closer until they were sitting beside each other.

Turning to face Carlos, the boy whispered softly, "Hey, are you okay?"

Blushing at the soft kindness present in the brunette's voice, Carlos lowered his head to hide his face, before nodding in response.

Lightly sighing in relief, the boy looked away from him. "Okay, good." After a short pause he continued, adding, "Do you have a name?"

Without raising his head from its position, Carlos nodded once more, not trusting his voice enough to speak. He blatantly ignored the other's inquiry in favor of staring at his hands; he was already ashamed enough to be the son of the devil herself, Cruella. The very last thing he needed was for this boy, ( _whom he was totally not developing a crush on_ ), to know of his relation to the craziest woman on the island.

He heard the brunette clear his throat awkwardly, before he turned back to the freckled boy to speak once more. "Okay, well… my name is Jay." The middle eastern boy stated awkwardly, stuttering briefly.

' _Jay._ ' Carlos let the single syllable silently roll over his tongue. The situation only became more uncomfortable when the older realized that his statement was met with silence once more. Sighing, Carlos decided to answer him with a question of his own, returning the favor.

"Why did you help me?" He really was curious about that, they had never even met before today. Why would Jay want to help him instead of just leaving the alley, or even joining in with the gang attack? Sensing movement in his peripheral vision, Carlos turned his head to see the brunette shrug in response.

"I don't know." Jay paused and shook his head. "Just because I wanted to." He stated as an afterthought.

While that was a valid answer to his question, Carlos wasn't exactly satisfied with it, but he didn't question Jay any further.

Scooting closer, the elder boy had apparently decided to try once more for a better answer to his original question. "So, _what is_ your name?" He asked, punctuating his question with an elbow to Carlos' side.

Unsurprisingly, the half-blonde was finding it increasingly difficult to avoid rolling his eyes to the point that they fall out of his head. Shaking his head, he answered, muttering his first name quietly to the other without meeting his eyes.

"Just Carlos?" Jay teased and leaned in closer, despite the young de Vil's attempts to move away from him.

"Just Jay?" Carlos retorted sassily, his nose crinkling as he raised his bushy eyebrows in vexation. As weak and fearful as he was, behind his long-built walls, Carlos was a complete wit at heart: sassy, sarcastic, and nerdy all in one.

The long-haired boy scoffed in a way that seemed like he was chuckling, shaking his head before replying, "Touché, Blondie." Another blush crossed his face, although it seemed as though he did a better job of hiding it this time.

Leaning away from Carlos' face, Jay sighed in amused exasperation. "Fine, be like that." Once more, he only prompted another large eye roll from Carlos. "My _full_ name is Jayden Asem, if you must know. But, if you ever call me 'Jayden' in front of anybody, I _will_ shove you in a locker with no hesitation." He finished with a blank look that was _astonishingly_ non-threatening, compared to the threatening tone he seemed to be going for.

' _'Asem'_?' Carlos was sure that he had heard that name somewhere before. Why was it so hard for him to remember? It's not like there were too many Arabians parading about the Isle of the Lost, rather than the golden streets of Agrabah.

Blushing, the brunette quickly added, "Jafar's my dad. What about you?"

' _Of course. That explains so much._ ' Mentally facepalming at his ignorance, he decided that it was only fair to answer the elder's question now that he had his own answers.

"Carlos de Vil. I'm Cruella's son."

x-x-x

Snapping out of his impromptu flashback, he tuned back in just in time to hear the arabian ask him to remove his shirt.

"What?" He gasped for the air that his lungs were very suddenly quite deprived of, staring at the other in shock.

"I said: can you take off your shirt? I need to check you for injuries if I'm going to help you." Jay stated, raising his eyebrow at him like it was common sense, and _Carlos_ was the one acting illogical.

However, on this particular day, it seemed Carlos had decided to be as stubborn as, well, _Carlos_ ; opting for throwing himself out of the grasp of the brunette. Crossing his arms over his chest and pouting like the child he was, Carlos responded, "I don't need your help. I never asked for it, and I don't want it." Pausing, he added, "I can take care of myself. I always have, and I always will. This is the Isle of the Lost, remember? We aren't supposed to help others unless there's something in it for us. What could I possibly do for you?" He finished, leaving out the fact that he _definitely_ enjoyed having someone to care for him for once. He didn't exactly know why he was being so difficult with the brunette; he actually really liked the other boy. Jay was the only person that had ever cared about or taken care of him in all six years of his life, and here Carlos was, yelling at him for trying to help.

Jay seemed to pause in thought for a moment, taking his words into consideration. Not long after, a lightbulb seemed to go off in the boy's brain, his face curling into a sly, almost smug smirk.

"Well, now that I think about it, getting the drop on the leader of a well-known gang, and scaring off his groupies gives me a pretty good reputation among the VKs, don't 'cha think? Not to mention, I'm pretty sure hanging around with the kid of the 'terrifying Cruella de Vil' makes me pretty dangerous, how about you?" His smirk only grew into a shit-eating grin when Carlos struggled, and ultimately failed, to find a way to dispute his argument.

Frustrated, he stomped his way back over to the old couch, plopping down next to the boy with a few grumbles. "Fine. Go ahead then."

Rolling his eyes, Jay grabbed a bottle of disinfectant from the first aid kit, moving to place it among the pile of other various supplies he had pulled out from the small white box as he waited for the other to remove his shirt.

With his breaths now coming in short puffs, Carlos shrugged his arms out of his light coat and removed his scarf, before nervously teasing at the bottom edge of his black-and-white t-shirt. Unknowingly meeting Jay's gaze for a split second, he quickly glanced away with a sigh before lifting the thin fabric over his head and dropping it beside him. Closing his eyes in anticipation, Carlos heard a sharp gasp before the bottle was dropped, tumbling onto the floor of the shack as the two fell into silence.

"You- who did-? When-?" The older boy stumbled over his words, speechless.

The young de Vil could still feel the bruises and numerous cuts from his earlier battering, but it seemed that he had chosen to selectively forget about the third-degree burns, charred skin, and various blisters from cigarettes up until this particular moment. If that wasn't bad enough, the skin of his torso was also riddled with scars and other various healing wounds and burns from constant abuse, and his ribs looked like they could poke right through his skin with they way they jutted out. He really had the worst luck when it came to, well, pretty much everything. ' _How am I going to explain myself out of this one? Think, Carlos, think._ '

Scoffing darkly, he blatantly lied, "Some kid near the marketplace decided to use me as an ashtray last night." He could feel Jay's stare unnerving him with every moment that he didn't continue.

"What about the scars? And, why do you have more burns?"

Wincing at the questions he knew he couldn't answer, Carlos opened his mouth to continue lying. "It's nothing. I get bullied a lot." That was at least a half-truth. He did get bullied and taunted often by other villain kids for being smart, kind, and, most of all, weak. Opening his eyes, Carlos was relieved to see that Jay had seemingly believed his lies and was now staring at him in dark astonishment.

Grimacing, the Jay shook his head in disbelief. "You really have some terrible luck, don't you, kid?"

Rolling his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that day, he simply muttered, "Tell me about it. You have _no_ idea." Carlos hissed in pain as Jay applied the first spray of disinfectant to his burns and cuts, now seriously wishing that he had never even went to the market today.

"What were you even doing down by the docks anyway?"

Okay, was this boy just reading his mind at this point?

"What literally everyone else was doing today. I went to steal from the shipment." Carlos replied as if it was obvious what he was doing there, ( _which really, it was_ ).

The older boy only hummed in response, wrapping a few layers of bandage wrappings around Carlos' upper torso before cleaning the next layer.

Taking that as an invitation to continue, Carlos did just that. "My mother forced me run errands for her today. She wanted me to have something good for her by the time she returned tonight, but you saw how well that went for me. Those guys took everything. I doubt she's going to be very happy about it." Shuddering at the thought of a furious Cruella storming through the door, Carlos didn't notice the way Jay raised his eyebrow at him in suspicious concern.

"Alright. You're all done."

Reaching for his shirt, Carlos looked down to briefly admire the Jay's handiwork, noting that he already felt much better. Pulling his jacket and scarf back on, he awkwardly stood from the dingy old couch, waiting for the other to say something.

"You live at Hell Hall, right?" When he nodded in response, the brunette stood from the couch, running a hand through his hair before making his way over to the door of the shack and looking over his shoulder at the small boy. "You coming?" As if to punctuate his point, Jay stuck a thumb in the direction of the door before turning back around.

Only staring as the tall boy made his way out of the barn-like shack, Carlos shook his head in exasperation before closely following behind.

Their walk to Hell Hall was mostly shrouded in a thick silence that neither of them dared to break in that moment. When they finally reached the menacing looking mansion in the distance, neither said a word, despite turning to face each other upon their arrival. After what seemed like hours of staring at one another, Carlos decided to break the awkward silence between them. "Hey, Jay?"

The brunette seemingly perked up at the sound, raising his gaze to meet Carlos'. "Yeah, Carlos?"

"Thanks. You know, for everything." He answered softly.

Blushing, the older boy let a charming smile grace his features before he responded, "Don't worry about it. Besides, it's not like I did it to help you, right?" He winked, causing Carlos to smirk in response as he snorted at the blatant sarcasm.

" _Right._ " Rolling his eyes, he turned to make his way inside the house as Jay continued to laugh softly behind him.

Or, he would have, at least, if a hand grabbing his wrist didn't prevent him from doing so.

"Carlos, wait."

Turning around to face the other in confusion, he was greeted with the sight of the boy emptying his pockets and, quite literally, reaching for the items he had hidden up his sleeves. He seemed to find what he was looking for, because Carlos was soon being handed what looked like a vintage hand fan handcrafted with fine blue fabric and a beautiful diamond necklace.

"Here. I stole these earlier, but I want you to have them for now." When Carlos began to protest, he was interrupted by Jay as he spoke again. "Wait, there's a catch. I'm only going to _lend_ these to you if return the favor, and meet me at the shack again tonight." He pulled the items out of Carlos' reach, his bright eyes gleaming with a shine he couldn't exactly place.

Staring incredulously at the boy, he wondered aloud, " _You_ want _me_ to sneak out of my house, in the middle of the night to come see you. Sounds like that infamous love story from Auradon, don't you think?"

Laughing in response, Jay only waved the items in his face before questioning him. "Do you want them or not?"

Carlos scoffed loudly, before snatching the items out of the elder's hands and making his way to the front door of Hell Hall. Once he made it inside the door, he turned around to softly glare at the other boy. "I'll meet you tonight. Nothing more." When yet another smirk of a smile graced Jay's face, he only shook his head before pushing the door shut.

x-x-x

Wiping the sweat of the flushed skin of his forehead, he dropped the cleaning brush in the bucket for the final time, looking around to admire his work. He had gotten to the end of his giant chore list just in time for Cruella's impending arrival. Hell Hall was now spotless, her coats cleaned and fluffed and dinner was ready. Now, all that was left was to wait for her return.

When he heard the familiar sound of a car door slamming shut and sharp heels click-clacking against the tile, Carlos immediately stood up straight and lowered his head as she approached him. If there was one thing he had learned not to ever do over the years, it was to never meet his mother's gaze; ( _or to speak up in her presence_ ).

"Now, now Carlos. There's no need to look like such a scared puppy, darling." Grabbing his chin, Cruella forced him to meet her gaze as she glared at him. "Now, where are the gifts you promised Mummy?"

Carlos knew better than to listen to Cruella when she was angry or ranting. Her tone may have said 'loving mother', but the look in her eyes definitely screamed ' _murderer_ '. Shying away from her grasp, he rushed to grab the hand fan and diamond necklace Jay had given him a few hours earlier, and presented them to his mother in fear. Closing his eyes, he braced for any hit she may throw at him, and flinched when he felt her hand pat his head mockingly.

"Good boy, Carlos. Maybe mummy should send you to play fetch more often." Humming to herself, the thin, scraggly woman made her way around the small boy, climbing the stairs to her bedroom suite.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Carlos ran to the closet that housed his room, before barricading the door with furniture once more. Grabbing his jacket and leather gloves, he crawled through his window, ( _which was really just a small hole in the brick wall_ ), before taking off in the direction of the shack Jay had taken him to that day. Ducking his head under low branches as he made his way through the clearing surrounded by trees, Carlos finally reached the hidden shack in the distance, and entered through the unlocked side door.

Looking around for the tall brunette, he found nothing but the old broken furniture that took up space in the barn-like shack. He decided to try calling out for the boy instead. "Jay? It's me, Carlos." When he received no response in return, he stepped further into the dark building, looking around for the boy he had met earlier that day. He soon found that the shack was completely empty, no one but the half-blonde to be found.

' _Of course. I should have known better to come here._ ' Sighing to himself, Carlos turned on his heels and made his way out of the rickety old shack. As he dragged his feet in disappointment, he slowly walked the path back to Hell Hall; scolding himself internally for getting his hopes up in the first place. Things only seemed to be getting worse for him that night, as raindrops soon began to fall from the sky, effectively soaking his hair and clothes when he didn't attempt to speed up his pace.

The rain only seemed to get heavier as he passed through the marketplace, now busier than ever as the commoners and merchants were way too eager to sell off whatever it was they had found and stolen from the shipment that day. Carlos noticed the sign for _Jafar's Jewel and Junk Shop_ in the distance, and quickly turned into a nearby alley with a grimace; deciding to take a shortcut to avoid having to walk by the shop. Apparently, his mind had found the short walk home to be the _perfect_ time regret every single mistake he made during this awful, cursed day.

However, he soon paused his regrettable contemplation of his past actions, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw something violently shaking in a corner of the dark alleyway. Carlos only stopped panicking once he realized that whatever the ' _thing_ ' was, it was just shivering from the bone-chilling cold of the night. ' _I'm probably going to regret this later._ ' Sighing to himself once more, Carlos decided to walk further into the alley to find out what, or _who_ , was in the alley. Upon further inspection, he noticed that the ' _thing_ ' _was_ actually a cold, shivering person, most likely a boy around his age.

The boy had familiar long brown hair and tanned skin like a certain Arabian he knew, but perhaps what had really tipped Carlos off was the torn beanie laying innocently at the other boy's feet. "Jay?"

The boy's head shot up at the sound of Carlos' voice, deep chocolate brown meeting warm hazel once again. All in all, Jay looked absolutely terrible. If he didn't know any better, Carlos almost would have thought the other boy had gotten into a fight with a blender and _lost_. He had several large bruises, turning his normally tan face and neck an abnormal blue and purple color. He had numerous cuts across his face, ( _including a particularly deep one under his eye_ ), a split bottom lip, and his left eye had been nearly swollen shut with yet another bruise. With his beanie removed, Carlos could see the beginning of where some of his long, soft brown locks had been ripped out, as well as a small trail of blood making its way down the side of his head from a medium sized gash on his forehead. There were numerous rips and tears in Jay's clothes, making the fact that he was soaking wet and freezing in the cold rain even worse. What probably surprised Carlos the most, were the boy's watery eyes, overflowing with tears that had mixed in with the rain on Jay face.

Jay immediately yelped upon meeting Carlos' horrified gaze, sitting straight up and wiping tears from his face with the back of his hand, wincing briefly as he wiped the salty tears into the cut under his eyes. "Carlos! I-" He paused, unable to find a good explanation.

Kneeling beside him, Carlos reached out to gently grasp the sides of Jay's battered face. "What happened?"

Scoffing slightly, he replied muttering, "My dad just got mad at me again. It doesn't matter, it's fine." Jay thumbed a strand of hair behind his ear before turning his head away from the half-blonde, pulling away from his grasp. When Carlos didn't loosen his hold, the boy sighed. "I didn't steal enough to stock the shop, okay? Don't worry about it. He'll get over it by tomorrow." The young de Vil didn't say a word in response.

x-x-x

Jay had never hated himself more than in that moment. It wasn't enough that he just _had_ to manage to piss off his father that day, but now he had also managed to upset the only person on the Isle who had ever been nice to him.

When he turned his head back to look at Carlos, he noticed a stream of tears falling down the other's freckled cheeks amongst the various raindrops landing on his face.

"Oh no- please, I'm sorry, please don't cry. _Please_." He tried gently pleading with the half-blonde, but his efforts only resulted in more tears. Jay then decided to take that moment to mentally scold himself before he re-freaked out at the situation he had managed to get himself into. ' _Great going Jay. You just made it worse._ '

"What?" Jay shook his head to stop feeling sorry for himself. His musings had caused him to miss whatever Carlos had said to him.

"This is all my fault, isn't it." The boy asked once more, averting his gaze from Jay's as he cried.

"What? No, I-"

The younger quickly cut him off before he could even begin to finish his sentence. "You shouldn't have given me what you stole. I shouldn't have taken them. It's my fault that you got hurt. You should blame me." The small boy sounded so scared, every few words were interrupted by his soft sobs as he tried to catch his breath.

Jay couldn't believe his ears. Carlos not only blamed himself for something that was not his fault at all, but he was also scared that Jay would begin to blame him for it too.

"Hey, it's not your fault. I'm the only one to blame for this mess." When the freckled boy still refused to look at him, Jay placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, look at me. Don't worry about it, okay? I'm fine." Hazel eyes locked onto his for a moment, before the younger boy began to wipe his tears with the back of his sleeve. Between one moment and the next, Jay was being pulled into standing when the other suddenly stood and started pulling on his wrist, literally dragging him through the alley.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Struggling into a standing position, Jay dug his feet into the cement beneath him, slowing them down until the pale boy stopped to look at him. He was only met with a soft glare before the other turned back around.

"Come on. You are _not_ sleeping in a cold, dark alley tonight."

Suddenly, Jay was being dragged down the alley again. "Where are you even taking me, Carlos?"

Carlos gave him another of his looks - Jay silently called it ' _The De Vil Look_ ' - and rolled his eyes, replying bluntly. "Just follow me, Jay."

Upon their quick arrival, he realized that Carlos had taken him back to the Snake Shack. Rolling his eyes at the younger boy's obvious brilliance, Jay followed him back inside the small building and sat beside him on the same dingy couch from that morning.

"You are one smart kid, you know that?" He chuckled softly as Carlos snorted again, _(he seemed to provoke that type of reaction in the boy quite a lot_ ), and waited for the younger's ensuing quip.

"Yeah, I do. But, you're the first one to actually tell me that, so I guess that makes _you_ smarter than at least half of the Isle. That's a shocker."

Jay swatted the freckled boy on the shoulder, but he couldn't hide the breathy laugh that escaped his lips anyways. Sighing, he leaned closer and threw his arm around the boy's bony shoulders. Leaning his bruised head on Carlos' equally bruised shoulder, Jay could feel his eyes already start to droop with exhaustion, and let out a quick yawn. "So…"

Yawning himself, the small boy gave a similar smirk in return. "So?"

"Carlos de Vil, huh?"

"Jay Asem, huh?" The cheeky response from the other was quite expected at this point, but he still laughed at it anyways. Smiling to himself, Jay let his eyes close. " _This is going to be fun._ " He whispered finally.

" _I bet it will._ "

Sleep came very easy for them that night.

* * *

 _*Jafar insults Jay by calling him a "damn ingrate" under his breath in Arabic._

 _*Jay names the shack hideout after the Arabic word for snake. Jafar often calls him this, ( ثعبان القليل, Arabic for 'little snake'.) as a nickname when he is in one of his rare good moods._

 _ **Whew. Long chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to follow and favorite this story so you can keep up with my updates! Please leave me some reviews too! They help give me a lot of inspiration, so if you liked the story, don't forget to leave me a comment! Thanks for reading.**_

This story is cross-posted on Archive of Our Own; ( _You can find it here: archiveofourown works/13415391/chapters/30739122_ ). You can find me anytime at .com. You can also find my beta reader/co-writer at .com. I am always open to accepting any questions, ideas, and/or theories you have about the story. I love connecting with my readers, so don't hesitate to send me an ask!


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